DCU's African Connection

As we suspected yesterday, D.C. United is looking to Africa to bolster its roster.

Club officials are confirming this report from Africa that they are about to acquire Sierra Leone defender Ibrahim Koroma as a developmental player. Koroma, 18, started for his country in Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea. He goes by the nickname "Marcel." I am told he chose "Marcel" because he is a big fan of Desailly. His current club is Kallon FC (Freetown).

Koroma joins South African forward Thabiso "Boyzzz" Khumalo, a USL2 player who will also be introduced in the coming days. United already has two Africans on its roster: Liberians Francis Doe and Louis Crayton.

It would be nice if we could get some more players who can help us *now*. Playoffs are looming larger and we have injuries left and right. The tin-pot consolation prize of the USOC may be all we get this year.

For a developmental roster signing, I like it compared to signing a late round draft pick college player who will just get cut in a year - a younger player like this one could be a project but you have more time to develop him. Plus, he is getting some good experience playing WC Qualifiers at a young age.

Do we have any guess on how "finished" these too are? This seems to be the biggest issue with our African imports. Aside from Adu and Crayton, playing time has been a bit limited for our African's over the last several years.

I am a Pittsburgh Riverhounds season ticket holder. You all are going to be very happy with Boyzzz. He's a terror on the wings. Good at getting to an open spot on the field and crossing in. I really didn't think he'd be coming back to Pittsburgh next year and we're all really sad to see him go. He's a quality person as well. He does a lot of charity work for kids in his native South Africa.

...and it appears that Khumalo was an all-league player this year. From the Riverhounds' index page:

"Thabiso "Boyzzz" Khumalo was named to the United Soccer Leagues Second Division All-League First Team. The lightning-fast Pittsburgh striker scored six goals, had three assists and was instrumental in the Riverhounds' late-season drive that kept them in the chase for a playoff spot until the final night of regular season play. That was good for 15-points, tying Khumalo for sixth in the league. Khumalo, who played collegiately at Coastal Carolina, appeared in all 20 Riverhounds regular season games and logged 1,723 minutes. He also appeared in both Lamar Hunt U. S. Open Cup Tournament matches in which the Hounds played in 2008 as well."

I can't believe people are complaining. Clearly this kid not only has some pedigree, but clear intelligence..... or did no one else bother to read that he turned down the galaxy. That alone should earn him a round of applause or at least the benefit of the doubt.

Sounds good to me.
African imports are the new fixed gear freestyle bikes!
Talk about bling, these dudes come with their own funky nicknames!
Hey Eddie! Thanks for the seal of approval! You get lots of props for *letting him go*. Hopefully I'll be owing you some beers someday if he works out.

Robert Ssejjemba is another African player that, for at least a brief while, played for DCU. I think he's the only one that went unmentioned on this post.

MLS should absolutely be pursuing African players. Europe will only provide DPs, the occasional Carl Robinson, or the occasional Steve Guppy. Players from the big African countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon are likely out of our range (though Colorado did have Alain Nkong, who is now a regular for Cameroon). However, Africa still has tons of good players that end up in leagues MLS can compete with financially (or at least, can compete once you factor in how much people want to live here compared to Eastern Europe/former USSR states). The connection being set up through Mamadou Diallo and Patrick McCabe should be a strong development for MLS, as the league can bring in promising young players from a place it can actually afford.

As for Koroma, I have never heard of him. However, starting at center back at just 18 years old, and for a mid-level African team, is promising. I've been saying we've needed another actual center back for the past 2 years, so I'm happy to see it finally being addressed. If he can contribute now, it would be huge, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect an 18 year old to undergo such a massive culture change and succeed this year.

Alex Pato was not even 18 when he signed with AC Milan so if he can shine doesn't matter you are 18 or 16 they tear off the defense. But then again the coaches have this fear that OH he is a kid he is not experience, he can't handle kind of mental issue rather let the kid play have fun. That's how it ruins the potential.
Look what happens when you give the chance. Theo Walcott. A hat trick on away game against a hard core tema Croetia today.

Sorry about that. Yeah, Gomez was in terrible shape last year, too. Drove me batty, but he was still able to find a second gear when we needed it. Your coaches just don't get him. I'll take him back...

As for these African signings -- I'll reserve comment until I've actually seen them play, except to say that I think MLS should be doing much more of this. The Europeans will still skim the cream, but there are plenty of talented players who would kill for a chance to play in the U.S.

In terms of tpping the African player market, MLS will be well-served to carve a niche in the English-speaking Western Arfican countries which are non top-tier national teams - Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia.

if Koroma who is just an 18 yrs old locally based player can play and Stop Premierships Players Yakubu, John Utaka, Mikel Obi, Nwanko Kanu and La liga Kalu Uchechukwu etc etc and South Africans Modesi, Pienaar and plays top football in africa's World Cup qualifiers, i think he is such a telent to Invest on.